QuestionI am currently 30 weeks pregnant and just recently got diagnosed with SPD. A pelvic malfunction that happens when your body releases to much relaxin to the joints in your hips and pelvic region that sometimes causes tremendous pains.
I was just wondering if there are any safe excersizes that I can do to help relieve the pressure in my lower abdomen from this condition. And if there is any excersizes that I could to that will help with the birthing process as I would like to try and deliver vaginally but may not be able to if I can not control the pain. My sister recommended that I ask a fitness expert as its to far into my pregnancy to see a physiotherapist.
Thank you!
AnswerTo reduce stress on your pelvic ligaments, make sure that you have the best posture possible. When standing, pull the front of you pelvis upward a little bit so that the three bones of your pelvis, are aligned in the vertical plane. To do this:
Place your hands on your hip bones, the two side bones you feel are the anterior crests of your right and left ilium. These two body landmarks in conjunction with your public bone form what I call the "Bikini Triangle." When the pelvis is aligned in the neutral position, these three bones will be on the vertical, or "door" plane. Pregnancy makes the pelvis tip, so that the pubis bone is behind the anterior crests of the ilium, and this position stresses both pelvis and uterine ligaments.
There are two safe abdominal exercises that you can do to help with both alignment and pelvic stability. Go to:
http://befitmom.com/strength_training.html and scroll sown to the bottom of the page.
When dealing with pelvic instability, it's crucial that you eliminate movements that place tensile forces on the pelvis. For tips on this go to: http://befitmom.com/discomforts.html and read the sections on pelvis and tailbone.
Ligament laxity aids in labor, so I don't think this will prevent you from having a vaginal delivery. Discuss options with you OBGYN on pain control for delivery.
